Guitar Lesson 4

Essential guitar chords for jazz

By Brian Turner

Ex. 6
Experienced guitarists tend to play chords with more economy, emphasizing the notes that give the chord its essence. The 3rd interval is essential because it tells us if the chord is major or minor. The 7th interval is essential because it tells us if we are playing a dominant or major 7. The other notes such as the root and 5th are dispensable, especially if we are playing in a band because the bassist and/or pianist are playing those notes. If the experienced guitarist is playing chords with the root on the 6th string they will usually not play the 5th or 1st strings. Below, we see the chords as we've learned previously next to the economy chords.